The DIAA State Track and Field Championships were filled with plenty of excitement and drama over the weekend.

DIVISION I GIRLS Charter School of Wilmington ran away with their first ever track and field state championship, finishing with a convincing 123 points. Senior Nikko Brady led the way with three 1st place finishes and one 4th place finish. She won the Long Jump, Triple Jump, 100M hurdles, and placed 4th in the 300M hurdles. Charter was also led by double winner DJ Wood in the Shot Put and Discus. Distance runners Kayleigh Skinner and Julie Macedo grabbed 38 points in the 800, 1600, and 3200. Skinner won the 800M and 1600M, and Macedo finished 1st in the 3200M and 2nd in the 1600M.

Delcastle Tech’s Celina Emerson had a great day in the individual events, taking 1st place in the 100M, 200M, and 400M.

DIVISION I BOYS In Boys’ Division I, Christiana continued their 2009 dominance in piling up an even 100 points. They kicked off the meet by winning the first event, the 3200M relay. The relay team of Ali Jafri, Darien White, Barien White, and JaiQuann Beckman outpaced Salesianum for 1st place with a season best time of 7:55.92 to Salesianum’s 7:56.94. The 400M relay team of Jordan Asbury, Eric Boyer, Kenneth Lumpkin, and Elijah Williams also finished 1st. Throughout the meet Christiana also picked up first place finishes from Eric Boyer in the 100M Hurdles and Kenneth Lumpkin in the 400M.

Individual double winners were Greg Morrin in the 1600m and 3200M, and Malachi Freeman in the 100M and 200M.

DIVISION II GIRLS Tatnall School won their 3rd straight Division II title with 118 points. They pulled away from Cape Henlopen (106) in the final 2 events, after trailing for most of the meet. They picked up first place finishes in the 3200M relay, 1600M relay, 100M,200M,400M,800M,1600M,and 3200M. Freshman Tia Cooper dominated the meet by finishing first in the 100M, 200M, 400M, and anchoring the 1600M relay. Seniors Katie Buenega and Juliet Bottorff both finished under the meet record in the 1600M, running 4:57 and 4:59 respectively.

Cape Henlopen Senior Savonne Seth contributed to 38 points on the day. She won the 300M hurdles and the Triple Jump, finished 2nd in the 100M hurdles, and anchored the winning 400M relay team.

DIVISION II BOYS After finishing with 26 points in 2007 and 50 points in 2008, Milford boys won the 2009 Division II title in convincing fashion. Their win was a total TEAM effort, becuase in the four relay events on the track, Milford took 1st in the 400M relay, 800M relay, and 1600M relay, and took 3rd in the 3200M relay. They also had an individual 1st place finish from sophomore Dawan Smith in the 200M.

Towerhill’s Andue Smith took first place in both the 100M hurdles and the 300M hurdles, and Caravel’s Bobby Kennedy Jr. too first in the shotput and discus.

The 1st State Invitational produced many bigtime performances. Without relays, the athletes competed for individual state meet qualifying times. AI duPont’s Onya Boyd had a spectacular day in the hurdles, winning both the 100-Hurdles (16.23) and the 300-Hurdles (45.44). Caravel’s Bobby Kennedy pulled a strong double in the discus (173-08) and the shot put (56-07.5). Middletown’s Marquis Dendy also won two events, out-distancing his opponents in both the triple jump (47-00) and the long jump (22-03).